Gunnar Baldwin: A fear of non-conformity in hurting America

To The Daily Sun,

I am dismayed by the culture of peer pressure, public shaming, and over-the-top exaggerations that now characterizes political dialogue in America. This trend has completely undermined our ability to engage in rational debate over how best to run the country we all share. Democracy requires the ability to have respectful discourse in which ideas are openly and thoughtfully discussed while working toward consensus.

As a child during the Cold War, my father taught me about how censorship was used in “iron curtain” countries such as Russia, China, and Cuba to stifle dissent and hide the truth about the glaring deficiencies of Marxism. Dissidents who wanted to improve their societies and considered themselves patriots were punished as traitors. Big Brother was watching and would snatch you in the night if you complained.

In contrast, U.S. citizens who loved their country had the freedom to openly identify problems with government and express ideas on how to fix them. It was a testament to America’s greatness that we could openly criticize and debate how government should be improved without fear of retribution. Our strength was continuous improvement. How times have changed!

America now faces a formidable threat to free and open debate, but the threat originates not from government (although our president has turbo-charged it), but from conservative voters’ peers, who identify strongly with the increasingly exaggerated and unfounded views of their opponents that have been cultivated by the Republican Party. Many people do not dare speak their own minds on topics like climate change, health care, or bigotry, lest others in their social circle view them as outcasts. It is a self-reinforcing culture that mercilessly punishes those who think for themselves. Pressure to conform decisively fosters ever more disparaging exchanges about “the other side” —those seeking to think objectively and compassionately. My challenge to them is this: Show us that you are not a puppet of your peers, obediently parroting the outrageous things you heard.

Gunnar Baldwin

Plymouth